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Back The Convenient Groom Save as PDF
Chapters (42)
  1. Cover Page
  2. Dedication
  3. Dear Friend
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-One
  25. Twenty-Two
  26. Twenty-Three
  27. Twenty-Four
  28. Twenty-Five
  29. Twenty-Six
  30. Twenty-Seven
  31. Twenty-Eight
  32. Twenty-Nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-One
  35. Thirty-Two
  36. Thirty-Three
  37. Acknowledgments
  38. Reading Group Guide
  39. An Excerpt from the Goodbye Bride
  40. Chapter 1
  41. Chapter 2
  42. About the Author

Why didn’t Chloe call back? Were she and Paul and Pam deciding how to handle things, or was she so angry she was making Kate suffer? Because that’s exactly what Kate was doing: suffering. The waiting was killing her. She couldn’t plan her next move until someone told her what to do.

Kate felt the bed shift as Lucas moved. Then she felt his arm settle around the curve of her waist, felt the warmth of his stomach against her back.

He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. Kate’s heart sped. In his arms she felt safe and loved—cherished. Like her world wasn’t a whirling top, spinning toward the edge of a table. She wanted to sink into his weight and let him be her shelter from the storm. But she was unaccustomed to counting on anyone other than herself. The very thought of sharing her burden made her anxious. How do I know I can count on him, God? What if he fails me?

And why was he holding her? What did he want from her?

She lay still, tense, waiting. He’d played his part of the game, met his end of the bargain. If anything, he should be angry with her too. Angry, like everyone else.

As moments passed and Lucas made no further move, Kate felt her body slowly sink into the hardness of his stomach. Just for tonight. It doesn’t mean I’m turning over control. She closed her eyes again. Kate knew she shouldn’t let herself find comfort in his arms, but she was too tired to fight the urge.

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Four

Healthy couples can weather brutal storms and come out stronger on the other side. This is how relationships grow and deepen.

—Excerpt from Finding Mr. Right-for-You by Dr. Kate

The shrill of the phone pulled Kate from slumber. She stirred, orienting herself, then crawled across Lucas’s empty side of the bed. The events of the day before crashed in on her like a tidal wave. It must be Chloe. She cleared her throat before answering.

A male voice greeted her. “Hi, kiddo. How are you holding up?” It was her agent.

She sat up in bed and looked at the clock. Seven forty-two. “Ronald. I’m doing as well as can be expected.” Given that her career was on the line. She’d fallen asleep somewhere around three o’clock, when the rain had started, and had slept fitfully. Thunder cracked outside.

“I haven’t heard from Chloe yet.” Kate had told Ronald she’d call when she heard something. He must’ve thought she’d forgotten.

“Actually, Chloe called me this morning,” he said.

Her editor was distancing herself from Kate. “You have bad news.”

“I’m afraid so, Kate. It hit the papers this morning.”

Her throat constricted. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and braced herself for the news. “Which ones?”